Federal Ministry of Justice
The Nigerian government has committed to establishing special courts to tackle sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) cases.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, represented by Victoria Ojogbane, director of planning, research, and statistics, said his ministry is highly committed to fighting against SGBV in Nigeria and will not relent in advocating for the need to designate and establish specialised SGBV courts in the country.
“It is my belief that the creation of special courts to handle cases of sexual and gender-based violence will improve the effectiveness of court service, ensure support for the victims, improve victim participation in the prosecution of their cases, and promote efficiency and better information sharing,” Mr Malami said Thursday at the seventh Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) Network Conference.
The conference, themed ‘The Imperative for Special Courts for SGBV cases,’ was organised by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) programme of the European Union in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice and National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
The National Programme Manager ROLAC, Danladi Plang, said the conference aims to identify relevant policy options, recommendations, and actions for the efficient disposal of SGBV cases which includes designation or establishment of specialised courts for SGBV cases.
“To sensitise and mobilise relevant actors and stakeholders around the imperative for and relevance of special courts for SGBV in the context of Nigeria’s legislative, policy, and social environment,” he said.
Speaking at the conference, Samuela Isopi, EU ambassador to Nigeria, reiterated the EU’s support for the establishment of special SGBV courts in Nigeria.
“The specialised SGBV court is a best practice, and state governments should consider having as many courts in their states as possible.”
The conference also saw the launch of the Mock SGBV court trial by Nigeria’s Chief Justice, Tanko Muhammad, who was represented by Justice Amina Augie.
Ms Augie noted that SGBV cases are still underreported in Nigeria and as such, there has to be a synergy between stakeholders.
She also emphasised the need for training for judges, lawyers, and other stakeholders who will be working in these special courts.
“The court is the last point of call, but before then, we need to actively get people to report these things,” she said.
Joy Ezeilo, a professor of law and chairperson, Network of Sexual Assault Referral Centres in Nigeria, said “the mock trial is meant to show the current realities as well as what should be the ideal in terms of granting women access to justice for those who have suffered violation especially when it relates to SGBV.”
She said the trials will also show international best practices which include medical aid, legal support, counseling amongst others.
She noted that court cases could be intimidating for illiterate women and so these trials afford them an opportunity to understand the processes and in turn gain courage to appear in court.
Although the Nigerian government did not spell out a timeline for the establishment of the courts, Ms Ezeilo said she expects that by March 8, 2022, which is International Women’s Day, the court would have been established at least in the country’s capital city.
The event was attended by ministers, judges, other public officials, diplomats, members of the civil society and others.
Nigeria’s human rights commission, (NHRC) received about 1.2 million cases of rights violations in 2020.
About 35.5 per cent of this number (445,080) were SGBV cases.
According to the 2020 NHRC report exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, SGBV cases accounted for 35.5 per cent (445,080) of the 1,287,760 complaints filed across the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
Apart from cases reported to the NHRC, many others are reported to the police and other law enforcement agencies. However, SGBV cases, like many others, suffer from Nigeria’s slow and inefficient judicial process.
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All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria
All content is Copyrighted © 2020 The Premium Times, Nigeria
